They aren’t quite over the line yet but if Motherwell win at Tynecastle on
Tuesday night they could well find themselves in the Champions League
qualifiers 24 hours later.

That would be a remarkable feat for Stuart McCall’s men, even allowing for Rangers’ ineligibility for European football next season.

Motherwell have confounded those who predicted that, despite their bright beginning, they would fade over the slog of a full league campaign.

On Saturday they battered St Johnstone in a 5-1 rout at Fir Park, while Dundee United and Hearts had to share the points in a 2-2 draw in the lunchtime kick-off at Tannadice, which entertained the spectators but left both sides frustrated as they watched the rest of the afternoon unfold.

The Tannadice game featured two spectacular strikes, both from distance, the first by United’s Willo Flood and the second by the Hearts substitute, Arvydas Novikovas. Between times, Rudi Skacel headed Hearts level soon after Flood’s laser-guided finish and Gary Mackay-Steven edged the home side again midway through the second period.

Had United won, they would have overtaken Motherwell on goal difference, albeit for a couple of hours. Had Hearts emerged with the victory they would have closed to within a point of the Terrors.

Now, though, a draw tomorrow will keep Motherwell nine points ahead of Hearts, with two games left to play. A Motherwell win would leave United needing to beat Rangers at Ibrox on Wednesday night to sustain a frail hope of leapfrogging the Lanarkshire squad when the pair meet at Fir Park on the last day of the season.

Paul Dixon, the United left back, maintained a cheerful countenance about the chances of his team participating in Europe’s premier club competition, while admitting that even if they do, he will almost certainly not be with them.

“It’s not very often you get the chance to play in the Champions League but we have a chance and we’re fully focused to try and do that,” said the 25 year-old.

“To be honest, I think I’ve made my mind up that I’ll be moving on at the end of the season, even if we get into the Champions League. I’ve had four great seasons here so I’ll leave with a heavy heart but I feel it’s time for me to move on and get a new challenge elsewhere.

“I’m still a Dundee United player and I’ve got three games left in which I’ll be giving 110 per cent. I would like to go to England but obviously that depends on having offers to go down there.

“Other than winning the league, there’s not much more that could be done at a club like Dundee United. We could maybe have won the CIS Cup against Rangers a few years ago but we won the Scottish Cup in 2010 and we’ve been in Europe for the past two seasons.

“If we can get Champions League football then it would be the perfect leaving present.”